Mark Foster believes new 200m freestyle world champion Matt Richards is “fearless” and could thrive under the pressure of having a “target on his back”.

Richards ensured his status as a marked man after clinching glory at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan by edging out Olympic champion Tom Dean.

The 20-year-old produced an outstanding finish on Tuesday to pip fellow Briton Dean to gold in a time of one minute and 44.30 seconds, while previous title holder David Popovici – the race favourite – had to settle for fourth.

Former world, European and Commonwealth champion Foster is excited by the depth of British swimming talent and Richards’ potential for further development.

“He’s got a lot of speed,” the 53-year-old told the PA news agency. “I think we’re going to see a lot more out of him on the 100m (freestyle).

“Tom’s a fast swimmer but Matt’s faster and got a little bit more easy speed to go out (from the start).

“He’s a bit fearless. He’s improving a lot, he’s improving very fast, which is really exciting. How much more can he improve?

“But the interesting thing is going from being ‘Dave’ who is a relay swimmer to suddenly beating the Olympic champion and becoming world champion himself – now he’s got a bit of target on his back.

“That’s going to be the interesting thing to see how he copes with that. It might even push him to go faster.

“I’m really excited to see what he can do, not just on the 100 freestyle but the 200 freestyle and also those relay events, which are just key for us.”

Richards’ stunning performance in Fukuoka came a year and a day before the start of Paris 2024.

Alongside Dean, he was part of the triumphant men’s 4×200m freestyle relay at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where Britain enjoyed their most successful Games in the pool by winning eight medals, including four golds.

Foster has tipped Team GB’s swimmers to surpass that record-breaking total next year in the French capital.

“From what I’ve seen at the moment, we’ll do better,” he said.

“There’s no guarantees in sport but if I were to list medals that I think we will get, I’d give us more than leading in to Tokyo.

“Eight is a good figure to start from but how much we get above that, I don’t know. I think it will be beaten. If we get there or thereabouts that’s a great result but I think we’ll go a couple more.

“For me, it’s really exciting that it’s not just one or two events that we’re good at.

“Even if we come fifth or sixth in an event, we’ve got someone in there, whereas historically – I’m going back to when I swam – we had a handful of swimmers that could do something. Now we’ve got three handfuls.”

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Clive Cox looks poised to send Diligent Harry to the Jenningsbet Hopeful Stakes at Newmarket next month on the back of his fine run at Newbury on Saturday.

The five-year-old was beaten a head by Commanche Falls in the Group Three Hackwood Stakes and was subsequently raised 2lb to a mark of 109 by the handicapper.

Though he came with a well-timed run under Richard Kingscote and had his head in front inside the final 110 yards, he was pipped on the line in the six-furlong contest.

Diligent Harry beat Royal Ascot’s subsequent Buckingham Palace Stakes scorer Witch Hunter in the All-Weather Sprint Championships Conditions Stakes at Newcastle in April, and was beaten just over three lengths by Equality in the Group Three Coral Charge at Sandown when dropped to five furlongs on his penultimate run.

“It was a very pleasing run on Saturday and I’m pleased that he has come out of it well as well,” said Cox.

“I think that run at Sandown, trying five furlongs on a stiffer track, the rain came pretty much the last half hour before racing which made the going a little bit different still. I was much happier with the run on Saturday.

“With a bit of luck, the Hopeful might be a possibility. He seems to have come out of the race well and if he continues to give that impression, we will be looking at that.”

Five times a winner and twice runner-up from his nine all-weather starts, Diligent Harry is 0-10 on turf, although Cox feels a good prize deserves to fall his way.

The Lambourn handler added: “He is proven over six furlongs, even though he is lacking that success on the turf, and he has run some mighty races in defeat.

“It would be nice to see him win a decent race. He is back up to 109 this morning, so the handicapper thought it was a good run as well.

“Listed and Group races are certainly within his compass and after winning the All-Weather Final earlier in the year, he has continued to produce top-end results.”

Richard Fahey is now among the leading trainers in the country – but 25 years ago he was still trying to make his way in his new career.

A jump jockey in his youth, Fahey at the time was a dual-purpose trainer based at Butterwick, near Malton and began training in 1993.

It took a while for him to make an impact, though, and he looked a long way from his current base at Musley Bank from where he trains around 200 horses, and sent out a then record-equalling 235 winners in 2015.

Nowadays he is known for the exploits of Group One winners like Ribchester, Perfect Power, The Platinum Queen and current stallion sensation Wootton Bassett.

But 25 years ago all his eggs were in the Superior Premium basket.

A useful two-year-old without making a significant impact, he won a Listed race first time out at three at Haydock before missing most of the summer. He came back to be third in the Ayr Gold Cup at 33-1, hinting that he loved the hustle and bustle of a big sprint handicap.

He failed to make much of an impact in the first half of 1998 before massively outrunning his 40-1 odds when third to Selhurstpark Flyer in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot, just the second time he had been ridden by a young 5lb claimer by the name of Robert Winston.

Winston kept the ride when he won next time out, before Kieren Fallon stepped in for another win at Haydock.

Goodwood came next where he was reunited with Winston, and sent off 14-1 in a 29-runner Stewards’ Cup, he came home a length and a half clear of Ansellman.

“It seems a long time ago, we also had the third that year with Eastern Purple I remember,” said Fahey.

“What I can remember is there was a false rail and it rained a lot, so if you weren’t drawn anywhere near the far side there was a favourable strip of ground.

“I think the first three were all drawn very high (which are low numbers now following a change in 2011), so that obviously helped but Superior Premium was obviously a very talented horse, he went on to win the Cork And Orrery at Ascot (now the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes).

“Another way you could look at it was if he’d got beaten at Goodwood, I was probably a bad trainer!

“He was only 3lb higher at Goodwood than he was at Ascot and he won twice in between. That might have been because I was only a small trainer at the time. You certainly wouldn’t have got handicapping like that maybe 10 years ago, but I do feel in the last couple of years they are being a kinder.

“There was a time if you won a race you would get hit hard, but they seem to have settled down a bit.

“He was a really good winner for us, obviously our first major one and definitely the first highlight of my career. He wasn’t just a flash in the pan, he carried on doing it for a good few years and he was the Saturday horse all trainers need and he helped me a lot.

“We even took him over to Sweden to win a Listed race, to Taby, which has closed down now and whether it was broken I don’t know, but he broke the track record there.”

Despite the distance from his Malton base, Fahey has enjoyed plenty of other good winners on the Sussex Downs.

“Lady Bear was a talented mare, she won the Golden Mile for us there, we’ve had some good winners there,” said Fahey.

“The Platinum Queen won for us there last year, Garswood won the Lennox (2013), it’s a specialist’s track and it’s very nice to have winners. I think you need a horse with pace, that seems to help with the undulations.”

They have not all been good memories, however. Arguably the best horse Fahey has trained to date has been multiple Group One winner Ribchester.

However, he had two attempts at winning the Sussex Stakes and came up just short twice.

“We took him as a three-year-old after he had won the Jersey and he was third, beaten a neck and a short head (by The Gurkha and Galileo Gold),” said Fahey.

“Then when we went the following year, the weather was atrocious. They had had a load of rain, but it was also blowing a gale if I remember.

“I was on my way to the stewards’ room to tell them he was a non-runner, but on my way there someone rang me to tell me Aidan O’Brien had taken Churchill out and they were joint-favourites.

“It wasn’t really the soft ground I was particularly worried about, it was just the general conditions – there was inches of water in the parade ring and a strong wind blowing them all over.

“Here Comes When beat him and I remember going into the toilets after the race, taking my shoes off and wringing out my socks into the sink, that’s how wet it was.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has pledged to fight to keep the “irreplaceable” Kyle Walker after an approach from Bayern Munich.

Walker’s place in the side became less secure in last season’s treble-winning campaign as a new system was introduced which often involved fielding four centre-backs with one stepping into a midfield role in possession.

He still made 39 appearances but did not start the Champions League final win against Inter Milan and speculation soon began about a potential move to the Bundesliga champions.

Guardiola insists he wants to retain the 33-year-old, whose contract expires next summer, saying: “He’s an incredibly important player for us. He has specific qualities, so difficult to find worldwide. His specific qualities are irreplaceable.

“We want him, yes. In the end, I don’t know what will happen. I know we’re in contact, both clubs, we will fight for him like I’m sure Bayern will do it. I don’t know how it will finish.”

By coincidence the two sides will meet each other in a pre-season friendly in Tokyo on Wednesday.

At a pre-match press conference Guardiola was asked whether Walker would play in the game and he added: “He’s our player. We need to play against Bayern, we need the best players, why should he not play?”

After last season’s success there has been a significant change behind the scenes with Guardiola’s two assistant managers Rodolfo Borrell and Enzo Maresca departing.

Long-term lieutenant Borrell joined MLS side Austin FC as sporting director while Maresca has taken over as manager of relegated Leicester.

“We are looking to have some people to help us but I have enough quality in the (backroom) team and so far it is okay,” said Guardiola.

“I have in mind a few people but I cannot say more.”

Kevin Stott has full faith in King Of Steel ahead of his August Rodin rematch but is mindful that the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes is not a two-horse race.

The Roger Varian-trained colt was second under Stott in last month’s Derby, finishing half a length behind Auguste Rodin at huge odds of 66-1.

The grey, who is a strapping son of Wootton Bassett, looked the winner at the two-furlong pole but was eventually collared by the Aidan O’Brien-trained challenger.

Auguste Rodin went on the win the Irish Derby with a rather more laboured performance, whereas King Of Steel was imperious at the Royal meeting when cruising to a three-and-a-half-length win in the King Edward VII Stakes.

As a result the rematch is much anticipated, but the two rivals are not the only big names in a stellar line up for Saturday’s Group One held at Ascot.

Last year’s hero and subsequent Hardwicke Stakes winner Pyledriver will line up, as will 2022 Derby victor Desert Crown – who is set to be ridden by William Buick – and his Brigadier Gerard conqueror Hukum.

Much of the conversation revolves around the clash between this year’s Derby one-two and though Stott is hopeful he can reverse the form, he is still holds great respect for the other contenders.

“It’s probably the Flat race of the season so far, you’ve got all the best horses in there – proven ones and upcoming ones,” he said.

“If it’s a 12 or 15-runner field then it’s going to be really, really exciting. There’s not long left now, he did a nice piece of work this morning and it’s all systems go.

“It’s by no means a two-horse race. There are some very high quality horses in there and especially if we are going to have ease in the ground, there are a lot of horses with very good form on slower ground.

“First and second in the Derby going at it again for the first time since the Derby is obviously a massive thing for everyone.

“You don’t know when you have so many good horses pitched against each other, it’s exciting and it’s very open. Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel are getting a bit of weight from the other horses as they are only three and the others are older and more experienced.”

Stott was visibly disappointed after King Of Steel’s Derby defeat, feeling he could have won had he timed his challenge differently, but having had time to reflect, he is more accepting of how the race panned out.

He said: “I still look at the replay now and again from the Derby and go over it again and again. I’ve got to the stage now where I wouldn’t change anything that I did, we just got run down by the better horse on the day.

“I had no pressure on me, I was just riding him to run well, to see what we had, to see if the home work was backing up in a race.

“Between the two and the three (furlong) pole I was in front by two and a bit lengths and the next thing you know I was screaming for the finish line.

“Unfortunately we just got run down by a very good horse on the day, hopefully we can turn the form around but we have to, first of all, beat some other very good horses in the race.

“It’s not just a race between the two three-year-olds, but I like to think that if it does come down to a battle again from the furlong pole, then hopefully our fella will pull it out.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in the horse, but then again Aidan O’Brien is the master of the world that we live in and even though Auguste Rodin’s win in the Irish Derby wasn’t as visually flattering as the English Derby, he is probably one of the nicest horses that Aidan has trained.”

The final field for the race has yet to take shape and Stott is avoiding getting too attached to fixed tactical plans as the declarations and the going could change the complexion of the contest.

“You can sit down and analyse it and you’ve got plan A and plan B, but within a second that can just disappear and within a second you can have to go for plan F,” he said,

“You go through it all the time, you’re thinking about what’s going to happen and sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

“Just to be part of a race like this and to ride a horse of this calibre is very exciting.”

Travis Head admitted Australia had “mixed emotions” after Sunday’s washout in Manchester saw them retain the Ashes, but knows the feeling will be very different if they can win the series.

Rain forced the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford to be abandoned, wiping out the chance of a potential winner-takes-all decider at the Kia Oval.

Australia have arrived in south London with a 2-1 lead and know the urn will return home with them, but a similar scenario in 2019 saw them come unstuck in the final Test and subsequently forced to settle for a drawn series.

Given the tourists have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001, there is plenty on the line despite the disappointment of last weekend’s wet weather.

“The feeling around it was yes, we have got away with one, but ultimately we have come here to win the Ashes and we have gone a huge way to doing that,” Head reflected two days out from the fifth Test starting on Thursday.

“We played really nice for three Test matches, maybe not played the best week last week, but if we can shut that out and think about what we did well for the first three Test matches, it will put us in good stead for this week.

“This week is very important and I think there are a lot of similarities with ’19.

“Coming here with the opportunity and a lot of different feelings with how the weeks panned out in ’19 and then this week, but I also think off the back of that, it probably showed us how much it meant and how much winning the Ashes would actually really mean instead of retaining them.

“No-one had done it for such a long period of time until 2019 and the high of retaining them, achieving that was huge and great, but then we didn’t have our best week that year.

“So, I think when we reflect from that and moving forward with the group being pretty similar, the ambition is to come here and win them so we have got that chance.”

Australia were completely outplayed in Manchester with England able to post 592 to establish a 275-run first-innings lead and Pat Cummins’ side were still in the red when the heavens opened at Old Trafford.

Only 30 overs of a scheduled 180 were bowled during the weekend and Head painted the picture of a calm dressing room once the draw was confirmed.

Head added: “It is mixed emotions because you would love to win a Test match to retain them and hopefully this week we can win a Test match to do it.

“A draw is a different feeling, no matter what the situation, but there was no real massive elation because we could see the situation coming.

“It was a really relaxed group, we had a quiet beer and a chat about where we need to go and what we can achieve this week, so our heads moved pretty quickly onto this week.”

Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants reportedly settled on a one-year contract worth up to $11million, ending the star running back's brief holdout.

The deal was agreed upon on Tuesday, one day before the Giants open training camp for the 2023 NFL season.

Barkley's new contract is worth $10.1million fully guaranteed and includes a $2million signing bonus.

The deal also adds $900,000 in incentives, which can be earned if he reportedly reaches 1,300 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns and 65 receptions.

The 26-year-old Barkley ranked fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards in 2022, while scoring 10 touchdowns and sharing the team lead with 57 receptions in 16 games.

Just last week, Barkley had said sitting out the 2023 season was an option after he and the Giants failed to reach a long-term deal by the NFL deadline of Aug. 17.

He'll now be back on the field for the Giants as they prepare for their Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys on September 10.

Barkley is coming off a bounce-back season following injury-marred years in 2020 and 2021.

He finished seventh in the NFL in scrimmage yards with 1,650 and earned a Pro Bowl selection - his first since 2018, when he was also named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

In 60 career games, the former No. 2 overall pick has 4,249 rushing yards, 1,820 receiving yards and 37 total touchdowns.

Harry Brook wants to end England’s Ashes summer on a high and believes levelling the series at the Kia Oval would represent “a moral victory” over Australia.

The tourists already know they will be lifting the urn at the end of this week’s fifth Test, with their current 2-1 lead enough to guarantee they retain as holders.

They are still aiming to pull off an outright victory to become the first Australian men’s side to win a series on these shores since 2001, but England can ensure their achievement rings hollow if they make it 2-2 in south London.

After winning at Headingley and dominating the first three days at Old Trafford before rain robbed them,  Ben Stokes’ men want to prove they have had the better of the contest.

“We were dominating the game last week so, if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won. If we can win this week, it almost makes it a moral victory,” Brook said.

“That would be lovely. It’s not nice drawing, but it would be lovely to not give them that privilege.

“We’re just gonna go out there and play the same way we have in this series. It’s a shame the weather ruined it for us because we’d have felt very confident going into this game at 2-2. The rain won last week.

“We were thinking that (we deserved something) last week when it was pouring down in Manchester. It never seems to be sunny there.”

Brook has registered three half-centuries and scored 271 runs across seven Ashes innings, but would love a big score to finish the series.

On his match-winning 75 at Headingley, the Yorkshireman said: “On a personal note, one of my favourite innings, in a crunch game, at my home ground, to have contributed a significant amount was nice.

“There are so many things I have learnt this series and to play some of the best bowlers in the world, I haven’t got a big score but feel I have contributed in a few games now.

“I know I am at my best when I am trying to be positive, not just trying to survive. A couple of times I feel like I have been reckless, especially that innings at Lord’s in the first innings and then some innings where I’ve been tentative and not trying to score. It is just about getting it right.

“I have definitely got used to them (the Australian bowlers), I haven’t faced them before this series so it takes time but I feel I have watched enough and faced enough to go out there and feel confident now.”

The Yorkshire Oaks is the preferred next target for Rosscarbery after she came off second best in a clash with Emily Dickinson at the Curragh on Saturday.

Paddy Twomey’s mare has won three times at Group Three level and last summer came within a neck of claiming Group One glory in the Prix Jean Romanet, narrowly failing to reel in Aristia.

Having finished fourth over 10 furlongs in the Pretty Polly Stakes on her penultimate start, Rosscarbery stepped up to a mile and three-quarters for last weekend’s Curragh Cup – but after travelling strongly to the front, she was oustayed by the hot favourite.

A return to Deauville for a second tilt at the Romanet is not being ruled as the five-year-old’s next objective, but Twomey views the Yorkshire Oaks on August 24, over the intermediate distance of a mile and a half, as the ideal aim.

“She ran great on Saturday over a trip that is probably as far as she wants to go in ground that was more favourable to Emily Dickinson than her – she likes a bit of faster ground,” said the trainer.

“We sort of have the Yorkshire Oaks and the Prix Jean Romanet in mind, that’s why we ran her at the weekend as it fitted in perfectly in our schedule.

“Out of those, the preference is probably for the Yorkshire Oaks. The Romanet is the Sunday before and she was second in that last year.

“I think a mile and a half at York would be her ideal track and trip and very suitable for her, so that’s what we have in mind.”

Matt Richards led a sensational British one-two in the men’s 200 metres freestyle final to secure Great Britain’s first medals of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

The 20-year-old came on strong down the home stretch, leaping from third after 150 metres to clock one minute and 44.30 seconds and pip team-mate and Olympic champion Tom Dean, who also finished well.

Dean prevailed ahead of fellow Briton Duncan Scott at the Tokyo Olympics but settled for silver after finishing just two hundredths of a second behind Richards, despite being fifth on the final turn.

“I am pretty tired but over the moon, it was a stacked field,” Richards said in quotes to BBC Sport. “It’s amazing to come away with the GB one-two again.”

South Korea’s Hwang Sun-woo claimed bronze as Romania’s David Popovici, who was the overwhelming favourite to retain his title, finished fourth after fading badly in the final 50 metres.

Vera Pauw is “a bit concerned” about Louise Quinn’s fitness as the Republic of Ireland look to put a losing start in the Women’s World Cup behind them against Canada.

A 1-0 defeat against tournament co-hosts Australia in Sydney last week was compounded by Quinn suffering a foot injury, with the defender touch and go to face the Olympic champions in Perth on Wednesday.

She lightly trained on Monday and was put through her paces in their final practice session on Tuesday, but Pauw revealed “plan B is ready” should Quinn unexpectedly fail her fitness test.

“We’re a bit concerned but we think that she can play,” the Ireland head coach told a press conference. “It’s an injury that is not very straightforward and it’s relying on how she reacts (during) training. Plan B is ready.”

The Girls in Green go into their next match knowing a defeat would spell the end of their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages in their historic maiden World Cup campaign.

“Winning starts with not losing,” Pauw said. “If you play a game like this against an Olympic champion, I have to stay realistic but it’s clear that if we want to go through in this group, we need a result.

“If we win, we have it in our own hands. If we have a draw then we depend on other results.

“Canada is a very, very experienced team and they know how to have patience in getting their results. They often get their results in the later stages so that shows they have the trust to keep on going.”

But Kyra Carusa feels Ireland can take heart from their battling performance against Australia, where they rallied after Steph Catley’s second-half penalty without being able to find a way through.

“Those last few minutes of the Australia game did light a fire under us and show this 90-plus minutes that we have in us and the dangers we have in us throughout an entire game,” Carusa said.

“That’s definitely something we take away from that game. We are reliable and have that endurance and longevity to make sure we come up with a result at any minute in the game.”

Simca Mille could bypass Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Qipco Stakes if conditions are not suitable.

The Stephane Wattel-trained four-year-old has won twice at Group Two level – at ParisLongchamp and Chantilly – this term, latterly producing an eye-catching turn of foot to land the Grand Prix de Chantilly by an easy three and a half lengths under Alexis Pouchin.

It promises to be a high-class renewal of the King George, which features this year’s Derby one-two Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, along with 2022 Epsom hero Desert Crown and defending champion Pyledriver.

However, with an unsettled forecast and ground that is officially described as good to soft, soft in places on the round course, a decision on Simca Mille’s participation will be made on Thursday morning.

Wattel said: “The ground might be a concern. A final decision will be made on Thursday morning.

“We have prepared toward this race for a long time. I know the competition is very, very high and it will be a fantastic race.

“I don’t mind competing with the very difficult competition – if the horses are better, then they are better – but I want to have the best conditions for my horse to handle correctly, which at the moment is a concern.

“It is going to be a fantastic race and it will be great for the public and fun for all the sportsmen to see such good horses, but for Simca Mille, he needs fast ground and I doubt we will get fast ground.

“It is difficult to put a percentage on it, and I don’t want to say too much about it. A final decision will be made on Thursday morning. I am not the only one (to make the decision).”

Should last season’s Group One Grand Prix de Paris neck runner-up not take his place in the King George line-up, he could head to Germany or stay closer to home.

Wattel added: “He is entered in the Grosser Preis von Berlin (at Hoppegarten on August 13) in Germany, which is a Group One, but I would say I will be very happy, even if it is only a Group Two, he has the Grand Prix de Deauville (August 27), which for a Deauville-based trainer is an important race also.

“He has had fantastic results at Longchamp, so we will keep an eye on the Arc, if the ground is suitable for him.

“My concern is to have too difficult a race in the King George and leave his race there, on ground that is not his optimum.”